As the dispute between the Iqaluit Housing Authority (IHA) and the Nunavut Employees Union (NEU) drags on, the IHA’s treatment of workers demonstrates an unsavoury attitude towards the very community it serves. The labour impasse between NEU and IHA has gone on for 130 days, and a collective agreement between the two parties still seems out of reach.
On Monday, NEU and the IHA had their first face-to-face negotiating session since March. However, after the meeting lasted only two hours, the NEU said they felt the IHA had no intention of reaching a fair deal.
“Living in the north is expensive, and the employer seems incapable, or does not care, about providing the type of employment and workplace that would attract and retain local employees,” NEU said in a written statement to rabble.ca.
The NEU said that the IHA’s proposals during bargaining demonstrate their unwillingness to meet northern workers’ needs. Meanwhile, the employer readily hires workers from the south and offers robust contracts that often include housing and allowances to match high inflation in Nunavut.
READ MORE: Iqaluit Housing Authority’s accused of racism in use of scab labour
“A series of managers brought in from the south have failed to recognize the value of their local workforce and have created an environment dominated by systemic racism and a lack of respect for Inuit workers and the community of Iqaluit,” the NEU wrote.
Major concessions on the table
At Monday’s bargaining session, the NEU says they brought forward a “reasonable path for reaching a tentative agreement, achieved in discussions with the mediator that day.” However, the IHA refused the plan presented and continued to push concessions on its workers.
The IHA is offering a mere 1.5 per cent wage increase, which the NEU says would not be enough to help navigate Iqaluit’s high cost of living.
A 1.5 per cent pay increase is the same increase that was offered to federal public servants in April. This wage offer led to a national strike led by public servants who felt their wages did not keep up with inflation. How are Iqaluit workers to accept the same wage increase? Inflation in the north often outpaces inflation in the rest of the country, specifically when it comes to food.
In June 2023, fresh fruits and vegetables in Canada cost 9.2 per cent more than they did in June 2022. While the data for Iqaluit is not available, Statistics Canada reported that in the Yukon territory and the Northwest territories, fresh fruit and vegetable prices increased by 10.4 per cent and 19.6 per cent, respectively. Nunavut relies on bringing grocery items in by boat or plane like many other northern communities, which drives up prices.
Beyond the low wage offers, the IHA has also tabled concessions that would include automatic rent deduction from paycheques and a reduction of current entitlements on Northern allowances.
Northern allowances help workers in Nunavut make weather the high cost of living compared to southern communities, according to the Government of Nunavut. The NEU said that cuts to northern allowances would further hurt an already struggling workforce.
The IHA is also looking to limit future entitlements for workers who speak Inuktitut in addition to English or French.
“This is a perfect example of where the Employer fails to recognize the value of local workers and their ability to provide service to tenants in their first language,” the NEU said. ”The NEU is committed to encouraging all employers across Nunavut to recognize the importance of Inuit traditions, culture and language in the workplace.”
The “first and obvious” step to addressing the chronic undervaluing of northern workers, according to the NEU, is for the IHA to come back to the table and negotiate in good faith.
“The employer should also encourage local workers with advancement opportunities and training,” the NEU said. “And get rid of the systemic racism that pervades the IHA workplace before and throughout the 130 days of this labour impasse.”
Until then, the acute pinch of inequity will continue to be felt by workers for the IHA. This squeeze, according to the NEU, demonstrates a disdain and lack of respect for not only workers, but Iqaluit.
“IHA and NHC have prolonged this strike unnecessarily by locking out the workers, hiring scabs, not recognizing the workers’ value and simply not doing the right thing,” the NEU said after Monday’s short bargaining session. “It is shameful and disrespectful to workers, their families, the Union and Nunavut.”
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Nick Seebruch, editor
